Counterfeit Russian Watches

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Avoiding Counterfeit Watches
Updated 4 Apr 2014 by Editor, RussianWatchGuide.com

Generally speaking, replica or counterfeit watches have not been a large problem for makers or buyers of Russian watches. The reason why is that most Russian watches are not very expensive, nor are they as popular as high-profile brands like Rolex or Breitling.

However, counterfeit Russian watches do exist and Russian watch maker Poljot in particular views it as major concern. In fact, their website addresses the problem of replica watches directly.

"Counterfeit products are one massive problem for all watch manufacturers around the globe and Poljot is no exception," says the Poljot website.

Poljot says that over 70% of all after sales customer inquiries they get are related to replicas of genuine Poljot models, watches branded as Poljot that were never designed by Poljot (for example, Poljot Kursk), and watches made by other companies that use Poljot as a buzz word in their name (for example, Poljot International).

Volmax also confirms that fake watches are a problem. "Our products falsification become more and more frequent, as well as illegal use of brand names Aviator, Buran, Sturmanskie," says Volmax.

Moscow Classic also indicates on their website that they have a problem with forged versions of their watches.

Note that in some cases, the so-called "fake" watch may not be a direct copy of an existing watch model, but rather unauthorized or illegal use of the brand name on a completely different watch, perhaps one manufactured in China for example.

So what's wrong with owning a replica watch? To begin with, even if the watch looks good, the internal mechanical movement may not be of the same quality.

Secondly, company warranties do not cover replica or counterfeit watches.

And thirdly, there is an ethical question buyers must ask themselves with regards to buying and owning a "knock-off" watch.

Of course, the best way to avoid buying a fake watch is to purchase from an official retailer.